John O'Boyle / The Star-LedgerMark Sanchez's teammates and coaches are confident he'll be ready to go this week against the Bears.

Rex Ryan saw Friday what he didn't see on Thursday out of Mark Sanchez and his opinion about his playing status for Sunday rose considerably.

Sanchez was listed as limited in practice Friday, but multiple players said he took all of the reps with the first team during the team portion of practice, a strong indication that he'll be the team's starter on Sunday.

"The thing I'll say about Sanchez today, he threw the ball a lot different than he did (Thursday)," Ryan said. "He looked really good. The thing we have to watch for now is how he comes back because he really pushed it and was throwing a lot of balls today so we'll see how he comes back from it."

Backup Kellen Clemens said Sanchez was "slinging" the ball today and wide receiver Santonio Holmes said he settled into a nice groove after working through a rough spot.

"He was on point," Holmes said. "He had a couple of bad throws here and there, wasn't trusting himself, didn't get into the feel until about midway through practice but other than that, you know, he felt great. I think it's all going to be fine."

On Thursday, Ryan had retracted statements made earlier in the week that placed Sanchez at a 99 percent likelihood of playing. He said it could be as low as 80 percent.

But assuming Sanchez bounces back from a heavy workload today, so too will Ryan's optimism.

"Is it 100 percent? Probably not," Ryan said, "but it's close."

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Santonio Holmes said taking a day off from practice this week was a purely precautionary move. He sustained turf toe when a Steelers player fell on his shoe after an awkward tackle.

"Didn't want to do to much to re-injure it before Sunday's game," Holmes said. "This is the time it's much needed to take care of yourself a little more, be cautious on not having any nagging injuries that keep you out."

Holmes said it was not a lingering injury. He's listed as probable for Sunday.

As far as his opinions on his alma mater -- Ohio State -- go, he had this to offer about the five Buckeyes who were caught selling off merchandise. They will be suspended for a handful of games at the beginning of next season.

“Flat out ridiculous. I can honestly say that," Holmes said. "To put yourself in that situation, I don’t know the facts, got a text message saying some guys got in trouble. Why? That’s all I can ask is why. At this point, you don’t go out and do nothing to jeopardize your career and right now that’s what happened to those guys.”

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Steelers safety Ryan Clark was not fined for his hit on Braylon Edwards Sunday, according to AFC information manager Corry Rush.

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Per the injury report, Rex Ryan said DT Trevor Pryce (hip) and T Damien Woody are out for Sunday and will not make the trip to Chicago.

Eric Smith, who sustained a concussion against Miami, will make the trip but Ryan said it's highly unlikely that he'll play. To sway coaches in his favor, Smith taped bubble wrap around his helmet.

Brodney Pool said the secondary called him "bubble boy" all day during practice.

S James Ihedigbo was limited in practice today and is questionable for Sunday. Ryan said he feels about the same as he did last week going into a Pittsburgh game he played in.

Darrelle Revis (hamstring) will be listed as probable for Sunday but Ryan said he'll play.